


Scent Like Deserts

by rei_c



Series: Mashups and Crossovers [16]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV), Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, I Don't Even Know, More in comments, Multi, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24411253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rei_c/pseuds/rei_c
Summary: "And Stiles?" Cora asks. "What's his story?""Stiles is our mystery," Lydia says.
Relationships: Cora Hale/Lydia Martin, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Mashups and Crossovers [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1489115
Comments: 28
Kudos: 342





	Scent Like Deserts

"And Stiles?" Cora asks. "What's his story?" 

Derek opens his mouth, then closes it, letting out a deep sigh as he does. He's not -- actually, he's not entirely sure how to answer. 

See, the thing is, Stiles is _strange_. It's not just his skewed fear responses, his eagerness to jump into dangerous situations with both feet and an elbow, and his deep -- and deeply _weird_ \-- distrust of librarians, it's everything about him. It's his eyes and the way they change from beta-gold to near-black depending on his emotions. It's his scent and the way he reeks of desert heat and deep jungle at the same time. It's the way he eats curly fries -- and always looks slightly disappointed when he sees the clear, Californian sky above the Arby's -- and pizza -- muttering every time about how it's just not Big Rico's, which -- okay, but there's never _been_ a pizza place called Big Rico's in Beacon Hills. It's the way he tries to protect his father and never talks about his mother and has so much loyalty brimming out of every pore that even _wolves_ come up wanting. 

Mostly, it's the way that he smells like something Derek's never had before and smells like _home_ at the same time. 

"Stiles is our mystery," Lydia says, sitting down on the couch, a cushion of space between her and Cora. Derek hadn't heard her come in but he's not surprised; Lydia's gone eagle-eye obsessed over his sister and Derek doesn't think Cora minds. They've been spending a lot of time together and Lydia's scent has started to seep into the furniture and walls -- the same way Stiles' has. 

"Explain," Cora demands. 

Derek's expecting Lydia to refuse on principle but instead she smiles. "He and his dad moved to town six years ago," she says. Her eyes flick to Derek's as she adds, "One month before the fire." 

Even through the flinch of guilt and devastation bleeding through him, Derek shakes his head. "That can't be right," he says. "The way he and Scott talk, it sounds like they've known each other forever." 

"Six years ago," Lydia says. "Once I realised he'd be challenging me for valedictorian, I got Danny to look into him. Hacker," she tells Cora. "Already been recruited by every alphabet agency in the country. He's still trying to decide which one offers the best benefits. Anyway, Danny looked _everywhere_ , combed every corner of the internet, bribed just about everyone he could, and -- nothing. No birth certificate, no school records, no immunisation history, nothing. According to the internet, before Stiles moved here, he didn't exist." 

Derek feels flattened. Cora, though, looks highly entertained by the chemosignals leaking out from him. She leans closer to Lydia and asks, "You think his dad was a spy? Or his mom? Witness protection, do you think they're here under witness protection?" 

Lydia shakes her head. "You don't understand," she says, as gently as she ever gets. "Danny found _nothing_. If either of his parents, if anyone in his family, was a spy, he'd've found something. If they were in witness protection, it wouldn't have taken him fifteen minutes to figure that out. But he's been looking off and on for three years and there's literally nothing. Stiles just doesn't exist before he showed up here." 

"Does the sheriff?" Cora asks. "Or his mom?" 

"The sheriff does," Lydia says. "Everything perfectly normal until twenty years ago, when he fell off the face of the earth. And then nothing until he and Stiles moved here. There's no record of his mom at all, just like Stiles."

Cora, always the one closest to the wolf inside, has obviously gotten the scent of a hunt in her nostrils, because she's gone still, one lip curled, eyes gleaming with the promise of a good chase. "I think we should ask Stiles," she says, and her eyes go gold as she lifts one hand and lets her claws snap free. 

Derek snarls. The sound is loud, threatening, _dangerous_ , and Cora bares her neck instantly. Lydia's eyes catch on him, narrow, then go wide in realisation. 

Fuck. 

"Or not," Cora says, shrugging one shoulder. "We'll let Derek deal with him." 

"Oh," Lydia purrs. "I'm sure Derek would just _love_ to -- _deal_ with him." 

Cora laughs and Lydia grins and Derek? 

Derek flees. 

(It's not until he's climbing through Stiles' bedroom window that he realises where his instincts have taken him, and he has no power to reign them in and leave when Stiles turns, sees him, and his eyes lighten to the colour of thick honey, scent going hot with desert air and _invitation_.)

**Author's Note:**

> (Claudia was Cecil's older sister but Stiles calls Cecil his cousin. It makes sense to both of them, for some reason that the sheriff has never been able to determine but thinks has something to do with the dog park. Or perhaps the Summer Reading Program. Or Radon Canyon. Or the Desert Flower Bowling Alley. Or -- you know what? They're back in 'the real world' now. He's going to stop thinking about the bowling alley.)


End file.
